Peace Time
by AlixM1234
Summary: The Golden Trio was anticipating a quiet year after the whole destroying Voldemort thing. An unwelcome announcement from the Minister of Magic and a new dark alliance forming completely derail those plans. Canon compliant except for the epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

 _Hermione's Point of View_

Harry slept for forty-eight hours after we went home to the Burrow. Mrs Weasley had worked tirelessly making sure everyone had a bed, and that Harry's, Ron's and my rooms were all secluded. It was a sacrifice for everyone else staying there and I hugged her tightly when I saw we had been given three rooms down a separate wing. It wasn't until some weeks later that I learned McGonagall and Flitwick had all but forced the Weasleys to take money to add to their house. But I was too exhausted to notice, or too apathetic. Anyway, Harry slept for two days straight. Ron slept for a day and spent a lot of time playing quidditch. Harry also joined him, and took up running. Those few weeks after the war, the boys kept themselves busy by physically exhausting themselves, to keep the memories out of their minds I suppose.

I envied them. I was up all night, and listless during the day. I kept getting flashbacks, of the Creevey boys being killed and me not being able to stop them, of seeing Tonks and Lupin lying among the dead, of Snape being eaten by Nagini. I kept trying to write lists, I needed to plan stuff for the new school year, but I needed to find my parents, but I needed to visit Luna and Neville, things kept going around in my head and I couldn't think straight.

The only thing that brought be back to my old self (well as much as I could ever be my old self) was a morning when McGonagall came over. I have weirdly good hearing. Later I would learn that children who are quiet often have good hearing, because they are so used to not speaking. Anyway (stop rambling Hermione) McGonagall was in the kitchen with Mrs Weasley, Harry, Bill and Ron. I'd not slept until about 5 that morning and had woken up about half an hour earlier.

"How are things Minerva?" Molly asked.

"Just fine, thank you" McGonagall said briskly. "Where's Hermione?"

"She's having a sleep in, she's very tired."

"A sleep in?"

"Yes" Molly said after a pause. I hadn't told anyone about my nightmares but Molly had raised seven children. I would be surprised if she suspected something was up, or knew what was going on.

"Excuse me" McGonagall's footsteps started approaching the staircase.

"Professor, wait" I could hear Harry's footsteps, which I knew as well as my own, following the headmistress.

"I'm sorry Mr Potter, but I have not known Ms Granger to sleep in during her six years at Hogwarts and she's been asleep the past three times I've visited. When she has been up she's been pale and listless and it won't do. If you'll excuse me."

Her footsteps approached at lightning speed. I tried to get up and get dressed before she reached my room but I only succeeded in getting out of bed and throwing on a cardigan before there was a knock on my door. I looked down in dismay, I had my pink with blue polka dot pyjamas on. I wouldn't have time to get changed.

"Come in" my voice was croaky.

Ms McGonagall opened the door and strode in. She had taken up the mantle of head of Hogwarts with aplomb and had been the driving force in the two week clean-up of the school. As a muggle-born it astounded me that the castle could be repaired and strengthened in that time, despite living partly in the wizarding world since I was 11.

"Hermione" McGonagall's voice was softer than it usually was.

"Yes professor."

"Hermione, I think you've earned the right to call me Minerva, but I wanted to see how you are doing. I am sorry to intrude when you're uh" she looked me up and down and I blushed. She saw me looking and embarrassed and waved a hand dismissively "don't be embarrassed child, I've seen you mid-battle and after all you've done for us, I think you can wear what you like. I'll cut to the chase, I'm worried about you." Her voice was gentle, gentler than I'd ever heard her.

"I'm fine" I said automatically, forcing myself to smile and make eye-contact. "Really Professor I just fancied a nap."

McGonagall laughed. Normally I wouldn't have cared, but in those few weeks after the war, I was super sensitive and I flinched.

"Hermione, I have never known you to want a nap. You're listless and you can't focus. You've been through hell. You were the backbone of the light in the war."

I protested "it was Harry and Dumbledore –"

"No, it was _you_ who kept Harry alive, you who took so many people under your wing and made them loyal, you who kept a cool head at every turn. I am not surprised that you're exhausted."

I knew where this was going "Professor, _please_ don't tell me I need to get away a bit and have a break. I can't think of anything worse."

McGonagall smiled. "I know you can't, I can't think of anything worse, either. I never understood holidays, utter waste of time and galleons. No I'm suggesting what you need is some structure and a good dose of old fashioned hard work."

I raised an eyebrow. Something I'd become proficient at after living solely with Harry and Ron for eight months. "I'm listening."

McGonagall nodded "I thought you'd be interested. This isn't a particularly intellectually stimulating job but it involves organisation and a lot of hard work. We are having a memorial service for the war, at Hogwarts. I'm not going to have a lot of time to focus on it, and I want it to be something that will do justice to those who fell."

For a second I thought I would see her cry. I can remember thinking that the guilt she must carry for surviving when so many of her students didn't must be eating her alive, if it was anything like I felt.

"I can't think of anyone else I would rather entrust the organising to."

I smiled, a proper smile, for the first time in what felt like forever. This would be hard work, for something worthwhile which wouldn't involve anyone dying. I'd have a reason to get up in the morning, and then after a while, I'd have energy to find Mum and Dad. "I'm in, Professor." I grinned in spite of myself.

XXX

There were so many owls, so many meetings, so many speakers to appease. I had no idea how important some people thought they were. Eventually McGonagall, Kingsley, and Aberforth decided on Mr Weasley, Professor Flitwick, Kingsley, and Andromeda Tonks. Harry flat out refused to be the person to speak on behalf of Dumbledore's army. He said he knew people would expect it of him, but he couldn't face it. I had to say I sympathised with him. I think he, Ron and I would take at least a year to get our energy levels back up. And Harry had seen more death than any 18 year old I knew. Ron and Ginny and George didn't want to speak if their dad was.

McGonagall looked at the list with all of the names crossed out.

"This isn't looking promising, Ms Granger. I want someone who was prominent in the war effort. Otherwise it will look like no one wanted to speak. Are you sure I can't persuade you?"

"Professor, I'm organising. It would the height of arrogance."

"Yes I know, I know." She sighed. Something I'd become accustomed to hearing.

"What about Neville and Luna?" I couldn't believe I had overlooked them. I kicked myself internally. Those two had also lost parents and tolerated ridicule to become two of the bravest people I knew. Well they had always been brave, I'd just never noticed.

"Very good" the headmistress chuckled "I'd almost awarded you ten points to Gryffindor. Old habits die hard it seems."

XXX

 _Harry's point of view_

The grounds of Hogwarts were packed. I avoided looking at Dumbledore's tomb which was opposite the new memorial for those who had fallen in the war, the war which seemed like a million years ago and like yesterday all at the same time. The school used to feel like home. And it still did, but there were memories here which were still pretty fresh, and as I hugged and shook hands with about a million people there were too many people who were missing.

Ginny gently held my hand and Ron moved closer beside me as we approached the front of the chairs. I was always used to having eyes on me, but today was unbearable. Well almost, I had my friends and Ginny. And I suppose the whole Voldemort trying to kill me phase had sort of finished. I cringed at glib thoughts. The war had made my sense of humour very dark and very dry.

"Come to the front, Harry" I heard someone speak. Automatically I shook my head, it was taking everything I had not to bolt.

"Come on, mate, I know it's annoying being at the centre of attention but you've earned it, and well I think people expect it of you" Ron said quietly. The fact my best friend, who'd struggled with insecurity was saying these things made me nod and agree to go to the front. "Besides" Ron added as we walked up "if we're at the front, we will be closer to the food afterwards."

I laughed in spite of myself, some things never changed.

Ginny, Ron and I sat down in the front row, Hermione: distracted and rushed joined us just before the first speech. She looked tired but also happy. Mr Weasley spoke, he spoke of both wars, of sacrifice, of duty, of loss, and hinted at forgiveness. He briefly spoke about Fred and his heartbreak and the heartbreak of everyone who had lost loved ones. There was not a dry eye in the house. Luna and Neville followed him, speaking together. They spoke of the importance of including everyone, and how division and excluding people results in disenfranchisement and love and encouragement can conquer anything. They kept looking at Ron, Hermione, Ginny and I. It made me feel sad that I hadn't seen past Neville's shyness and clumsiness and Luna's oddness earlier and seen the bravery and kindness. Andromeda spoke of hope for the future, for Teddy the half blood son of a warewolf and hope for him to grow up safe and happy.

Aberforth's speech was funny and a nice break from the intense emotions of the other speakers.

Finally Kingsley, interim Minister of Magic rose to speak. I suppose wizards have a longer life expectancy than muggles so they tend to have _very_ long-winded speeches at formal occasions. The Dursleys were not particularly good caregivers, but at least I never had to go to any long functions growing up. The downside of that of course, was that I was terrible at listening through them, or at least pretending to listen.

"Pssst Harry, _Harry_ " Hermione whisper-yelled. Startled I sat up, realised that I'd been almost sleeping.

"Sorry" I said to my best friend, trying not to roll my eyes. We'd lived through a war but it was funny how quickly we descended back to our usual roles. I rubbed my eyes and sat up straight. I wondered how many of the speakers sitting on the stage had noticed. I was willing to bet all of them. I sat up straight and straightened my tie.

"With the devastation we have endured, moving forward we must focus on unity and friendship" Kingsley said.

I nodded, forcing myself to look interested.

"Education is especially important, school is the one time where people of all talents, personalities and abilities are all in one place, all participating in similar activities, and it is the place where friendships are forged between people who would otherwise have very little in common. That's why we have decided that everyone who was, or would have been a student at Hogwarts last year will repeat the year, last year students did not receive an adequate education, and this way forward will ensure that these young people have some stability and can recover from the past year's traumatic events in an environment where they will be supported."

Ron and I looked at each other in disgust, I looked over at Hermione who looked relieved. This year was going to be quite different to what we had all been anticipating.

 **A/N Thanks for reading my first Harry Potter fanfiction chapter. Let me know if you've got any suggestions or requests for pairings, I'm still not sure yet.**


	2. Chapter 2

**PT: 8 years a student…**

Neville groaned as the sun streamed through his curtains. He had become lazy during the summer. His grandmother had eased up on him since the Battle of Hogwarts and let him sleep and do what he wanted more. It was weird, good weird but Neville couldn't help but be scared about starting school in September. 17 years of being ignored was not as bad as one might imagine. Now he was pretty sure that everyone was going to be all over him, if the fan mail and looks he got in Diagon Alley were anything to go by. Frankly, he was terrified. Partly that he would not meet everyone's expectations, but more that he was capable of being powerful and successful. In the past year he'd led Dumbledore's Army, stood up to Voldemort and destroyed a horcrux. He'd also learned to study and his grades had increased. There was not really anything standing in the way of him doing whatever he wanted.

His daydreaming was interrupted by a rapping on his door.

"Neville! Get downstairs right now!" his grandmother yelled.

Years of habit had him up, dressed, shaved and bed made (without magic) in under three minutes. He walked down the back stairwell into the kitchen, where the family ate informally. Longbottom Manor was one of the largest in the country but money didn't really mean much when you grew up without parents and friends. Neville had always preferred Luna's sprawling, messy house to the austerity of his own.

His grandmother had a scar down her right trick courtesy of the death eater, Selwyn, before she had ended his life in the Battle of Hogwarts. She sat at the table, back straight, not a hair out place, clothes perfectly pressed. She was the way she had always been, except for the fact she was grinning ear to ear when she saw him.

"Good morning, Grandson."

"Good morning, Grandmother" Neville replied, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

"Millie has made you eggs and bacon" she paused, smiling again "there is also some mail for you."

Neville nodded his thanks, sat at the place opposite his grandmother and began to eat. She cleared her throat and he looked up with a raised eyebrow.

"Aren't you going to open the mail, Neville?"

Neville glanced at the envelope for the first time, he recognised the writing in green ink as Professor McGonagall's. He broke the Hogwarts seal on the back. It was the usual stationery and book list. He put it back down and picked up his knife and fork.

"There's something else in there, Neville."

Neville prised the envelope right open something shiny was at the bottom. He pulled it out. It was a badge with the Hogwarts crest with the letters "HB" engraved on the front.

"There's been a mistake, they've got me and Harry mixed up."

"No Neville, you're head boy. Read Minerva's letter."

XXX

Hermione looked at her head girl's badge apathetically. This was something she'd always wanted but it was nothing compared to fighting in a war, or the hassle of the rebuild that followed, or the thought of finding her parents, whether she even should.

"That's amazing, babe." Ron said, kissing her on the cheek.

Hermione forced herself to smile "yes, I'm very lucky, and quite nervous."

"You'll be amazing" Ron said before picking up his broomstick to join Ginny, George and Mr Weasley outside.

Hermione stared at her badge.

"You don't look thrilled" Harry observed as he sat down on the sofa opposite her.

"Neither do you" Hermione observed. Harry had been made a prefect which meant the head boy had to be from Griffyndor as well. Hermione and Harry were both fairly sure it was Neville. She was thrilled for her friend, she only wished someone else had been made head girl.

"I suppose these sorts of things matter less now" Harry said quietly.

"I'm not sure they ever did" Hermione responded.

XXX

Minerva McGonagall waited at the Three Broomsticks. The start of the school year was only a week and a half away and Diagon Alley was becoming busy again. The physical damage to the wizarding shopping hub had been repaired but there were reminders of the war everywhere, mostly from the way people were guarded and subdued than they had been only a year earlier. Tom the barman was still his cheerful self, however, welcoming patrons in his booming voice and flirting with the witches.

Tom was silent, however, when the person McGonagall was meeting entered. The bartender's smile froze then turned into a look of disgust.

"What is your business here?" the bartender asked, voiced tinged with malice when the man pulled his hood back.

The man hesitated, his eyes briefly showing hurt before he frowned.

"He's with me, Tom. Don't worry I'll see him in my suite."

"Minerva, are you sure that's wise? And what business do you have with him? Surely nothing he can say can change what he's done."

Minerva took a deep breath, wishing for the thousandth time since becoming headmistress that she had Dumbledore's patience. "Tom, please we need to move on and remember Mr Malfoy had only just come of age during the war. If I need assistance, I will call for it. Thank you for letting Draco in, I know it can't be easy for you."

Tom knew that if he pushed he'd be on the receiving end of Minerva McGonagall's temper. He nodded and let Draco Malfoy pass.

XXX

Kingsley Shacklebolt had never really wanted to be Minister. As the only black person in his year at Hogwarts, he'd simply wanted to try and promote equality and reduce poverty, somewhat more vague and idealistic aspirations than his classmates. He'd been lucky enough to find school work easy and enjoyable and to socialise effortlessly. Somehow his natural leadership skills meant that he'd been appointed temporary Minister of Magic a year ago. Now the votes were being counted for the real thing. He'd been reluctant to stand for Minister but Andromeda Tonks had sharply reminded him that her daughter and Mad-Eye Moody had not died so that he could live a comfortable and small life when he had the potential to do so much good.

There was a knock on his mahogany door and one of his aides, Aaron MacDonald. The slim man nodded a greeting. He had worked for Shacklebolt for four years and Shacklebolt trusted him completely.

"A message from Ms Clearwater, sir" Aaron said softly. Penelope Clearwater had been appointed registrar of elections, she was a lawyer with a reputation for fairness, diligence and occasional bloody-mindedness. He opened the note, read it twice then scrunched it into a ball and threw it into the fire. If Aaron was surprised at his boss's behaviour, he did not show it.

"Right, Aaron, find Mr Zabini's aide and arrange for Mr Zabini to meet me at the stairs above the great hall at the Ministry, then send and owl with this letter" he furiously finished the note he'd been writing and rolled it up, "to Mrs Molly Weasely at the Burrow, and this letter to the muggle Prime Minister, I presume you know how to send muggle letters?" He paused for Aaron to nod "good, and then an owl to Oliver Wood, I'm not sure where he is, but the owl should be able to find him, and once you've done that, put on your formal Ministry robes and meet me at the great hall in seven minutes."

"Certainly, sir."

"Good" Kingsley said, dismissing him with a nod.

Aaron cleared his throat, Kingsley stopped combing his hair and looked up at this unusual display of impertinence.

"I presume it is good news then, sir."

Kingsley laughed "depends on your definition of 'good', Aaron."

Aaron smiled "very well then, Minister-elect. I shall see you in the great hall in seven minutes."

"Six-and-half!" the older wizard called out.

Aaron waited until he had left the Minister's chambers before smiling. His job was about to become a whole lot more interesting.

XXX

"I presume you asked to meet me on election night because you wanted to avoid being detected" McGonagall commented to Draco Malfoy.

"Correct, professor I had hoped everyone would be too distracted to worry about me."

"It will ease over time, you were cleared of all charges."

Malfoy grunted.

"You were, we are not a society that punishes teenagers for the misfortune of being born into a uh less than perfect family."

"I only got off because of you and Potter, bloody noble Potter."

"That's not true, and you know it. You need to stop punishing yourself, it's childish."

"You're the one who is forcing me back to school."

"Mr Malfoy, your insolence is distasteful. You know full well that you all need to return to school to complete your education and also the students on different sides of the war need to try and learn to work together."

Malfoy rolled his eyes but refrained from saying anything.

"Anyway, perhaps you would like to tell me why you wanted to see me, Mr Malfoy."

"I came to give you this back" Malfoy said, holding out his prefect badge, its silver P glinting in front of a green background.

"Why, do you want a new badge?"

Malfoy glared at her "you know I don't deserve it. I'm so…so horrible, evil, disgusting. I shouldn't be a prefect." His eyes were overbright and he was shaking. McGonagall hid her concern behind a mask of calm.

"Sit down, Malfoy" she said softly "I fancy a hot chocolate, would you like one?"

Grateful that his headmistress was giving him an opportunity to gather himself in private, he nodded. He turned on the wireless, listening to Kingsley Shacklebolt's victory speech, and Danziel Zabini's concession speech. Minister Shacklebolt was as eloquent as ever, Draco thought bitterly. But Mr Zabini would have been better at uniting different groups of wizards.

McGonagall returned with two steaming mugs. Malfoy grunted his thanks as she passed his drink to him. He was too exhausted to remember his manners.

"Kingsley is not small minded Mr Malfoy, he also seldom holds grudges."

Draco stared into his cup "uh huh" he mumbled, sounding as disinterested as possible.

"He will use Mr Zabini as a strong ally, mark my words, and I am sure, should you want to join the Ministry, your skills will be most welcomed."

Draco couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. "Please, I am the son of the biggest traitor in Britain, I tried to kill Dumbledore and I stood by while one of the golden trio was tortured, my career is over before it's begun."

"This is all true, however you are also the son of the witch who saved Mr Potter's life after Voldemort had tried to kill him in the forest, until your most recent year at Hogwarts you were second only to Miss Granger in your studies, and your conduct this evening demonstrates that you do in fact have a conscience."

Malfoy almost smiled at the elderly witch's words.

"Having said that, if you continue to sulk and feel sorry for yourself and care too much what other people think of you, then yes, your career is over before it has even started."

McGonagall picked up her trench coat and hat and began to walk out.

"I've booked this suite until the start of term. There is a back passage if you don't want to be seen leaving, if you would prefer to spend time with your Aunt Andromeda, that's perfectly fine." Narcissa and Lucius were under house arrest at Malfoy Manor and their other properties had been seized, Malfoy had been living with Andromeda Tonks and Teddy Lupin.

"Thank you, headmistress" Malfoy said quietly.

McGonagall nodded goodbye and apparated out of the room.

XXX

Rita Skeeter stood at the back of the Great Hall at the Ministry. She'd managed to avoid the public eye since the war, a very difficult task, but she had been slowly managing her investments and living off her passive income. Now though, it was time for revenge on the "light" as they called themselves. They were so high and mighty but no one looked at how they had treated her, how they had suppressed freedom of speech, how they had allowed children to be slaughtered in the Battle of Hogwarts. No, she would not rest until she had sullied their reputations beyond repair. But she needed an ally, someone in government who could help her. Had Mr Zabini won, she would have had ample pickings, but this was not going to be so easy with Kingsley. She had learned to be patient, though.

XXX

Molly Weasley opened the letter Kingsley had sent her, and then re-read it, confused.

"What does it say, Mum?" George Weasley asked apprehensively. His mother had gone as white as a sheet.

Molly looked at her son and then her husband and daughter sitting around the dinner table.

Molly folded the parchment and placed it back in its envelope, she stared at the table for a few seconds, knowing her family was holding its breath.

"Kingsley wants me to be his chief of staff." Molly said softly. The salary was huge in comparison to what Arthur earned, and much more than she'd ever earned. She knew she would be embarrassing Arthur if she took the job, but Ron and Ginny were almost finished Hogwarts and this job would be interesting and challenging.

Suddenly she felt someone come and kiss her cheek. She was shocked, it was Arthur! Her husband hugged her shoulders tightly.

"I can't think of anyone who would be more competent."

Molly looked at George and Ginny, silently asking them to leave, they complied.

"Arthur, I'd be earning a lot" she left off the remainder of her sentence, that she'd be earning more than him, but she knew Arthur would understand that's what she was worried about.

"Oh Molly, you know I don't care about that sort of thing. I think this job will make you happy, and it will mean that our nation will function better and so there will be a better future for our children and eventually grandchildren."

Molly put aside years of a prudish middle class upbringing and kissed her husband square on the lips.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 2: Groundhog Day**

Luna hugged her father goodbye, re-tied her hair into a messy bun and tucked her kitten, Alcyone, under her arm. She was apprehensive about coming back to Hogwarts. She'd never really cared about how she had been teased growing up: she'd never known any different. But during the war she was a hero and she'd been accepted, even liked. It was going to be hard going back. But at least it was only for two years. Plus her father had bought her Alcyone who would be wonderful company, and Dumbledore had donated thousands of his personal collection of books to the Hogwarts library, so she would have plenty to do. She straightened her back and walked towards the barrier on platform 9 and ¾.

The Hogwarts Express always took her breath away and today was no exception. She made her way to the front of the train, fewer people came that way so she was more likely to be left alone. She wished she had her iPod with her, but it wouldn't be able to handle all the magic and would only make garbled sounds. She would do her special spell for music that only she could hear once she found her seat. Her thoughts were interrupted by a first year smiling and waving "hi Luna!" the little blonde girl said excitedly.

Luna smiled back "hello, what's your name?"

"Eva, my mummy told me all about you, she said you were one of the students who helped with the war, she said you were _tortured_! You are so brave."

Luna blushed "your mother is very kind, but I just did what anyone else would. My friends, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville were much braver than me. Do you have siblings, Eva?"

"Yes, a sister and a brother, but they are too young to come to Hogwarts."

Luna smiled "well you will have to write to them to let them know all about it, good luck for your sorting, Eva."

Luna continued her walk to the front of the train and noticed that people smiled at her and waved and there were several people who called out greetings. Eventually she reached the front of the train and found a compartment with Ginny and two other girls from their year, a Ravenclaw called Janvi Singh and a Hufflepuff called Adelaide Morrison. Ginny stood and hugged her friend tightly.

"It's so good to see you, Luna."

Luna hugged her friend and kissed her on the cheek. Ginny had been her first real friend.

"It's been a weird day" Luna commented.

Ginny raised an eyebrow "why's that?" expecting Luna to announce a discovery of a new creature or theory.

"People kept talking to me on the station. It was almost as if they liked me."

Ginny sighed "of course they like you, Luna! You're a hero."

"I am?"

Ginny resisted the urge to shake her friend. "Yes, Luna" she said barely concealing a sigh.

"Well, how nice" Luna commented absentmindedly as a warm feeling rose in her chest. Perhaps she wouldn't be teased this year she thought to herself as she packed her trunk away and put Alcyone on her lap.

XXX

Neville and Hermione were summonsed by McGonagall as soon as the start of year feast had ended. The prefects rose to direct the first years to their dormitories and Hermione and Neville followed their headmistress up a staircase they had never seen before. Hermione's jaw dropped as McGonagall opened the door to reveal the Head Boy's and Head Girl's lounge. There were plush chairs which surrounded a very healthy fireplace, there were about a hundred books. Hermione could see they had been selected to match hers and Neville's tastes. There was a small greenhouse on an adjoining room and a desk where Hermione could work on her runes.

"This is your home for the next academic year. Its use is a privilege and not a right. You each are allowed five guests who may know the whereabouts of the suite, the password is currently daffodil, you will need to choose a new one every four weeks. I suggest you make yourselves at home, your trunks have been brought up. Neville your study, bedroom and bathroom are to the left, Hermione, yours are to the right. Should you need anything else in your chambers, please let me know."

Hermione and Neville looked at each other and grinned.

"I know, it is an exceptional set of rooms, but trust me, you will need this privacy. You will be more than figureheads, the head girl and head boy participate in the board meetings and policy decisions made at Hogwarts. In addition you are to mentor the prefects and junior members of the school, speak on behalf of the school when requested to and assist me with miscellaneous duties. My year as head girl was one of the best of my life, but it is extremely busy and, at times, very stressful. If you have things you want to do, trips you may want to take, these will need to be planned well in advance. I know you are both of age but should you need me for anything, here is the password for my office" McGonagall handed them each a piece of parchment.

Hermione smiled at her mentor who nodded briskly. Hermione knew that McGonagall was referring to Hermione's plan to return to Australia to see her parents when she mentioned trips. After McGonagall left, she and Neville went to their respective rooms to unpack and consider the year ahead. Hermione pulled out her timetable and began planning the year, for the first time in months she felt excited about the future, looking around at her textbooks and the other books McGonagall had selected for her bedroom. It was nice to be a kid again. She knew the year would be stressful, but it would be good stressful, not trying to save the world from Voldemort stressful.

XXX

Rita Skeeter's desk was her pride and joy. She had bought it after her third year working. She'd seen her rich pureblood friends' parents' desks in their mansions. Her parents had grown up in a two bedroom semi-detached council flat. Their daughter had a love of reading and writing stories, which they had encouraged, but it was hard for them to accept her when she'd gone to Hogwarts, although they'd kept in touch until they'd died. No one knew she was muggle born, perhaps it would work in her favour with the new regime. She sat at her mahogany desk with the finest quills and parchment and reached into her locked bottom desk drawer. It opened to reveal thousands of files. She reached to the very front file which had a list of all the important people in the wizarding world, and many in the muggle world. Rita had devised a spell where she could speak and the files would automatically update. The writing would be in different colours depending on the source: red for gossip, blue for sources she could trust, and green for cold hard fact, with a myriad of colours for in between.

"I want someone corruptible, power hungry and malleable to help me get what I want" Rita said into the air. There was a flurry of paper, forming a miniature tornado around her head as the spell worked. Suddenly the papers fell down perfectly into the drawer once again, with three files falling onto her desk, on top of each other in alphabetical order. Rita smiled at her own spell. People knew she was manipulative and cunning, but she hid her raw intelligence and penchant for spell making from the world. She eagerly read the three files and smiled when she got to the third. She had just the person for the job. She summonsed a piece of her best parchment and began to write a letter.

XXX

Kinglsey's first meeting with his Inner Council or IC as it was colloquially known was held in the Minister's office. There were four members elected by the wizarding population, the head of the Wizengamot and was a member automatically, as were the heads of the departments of trade, mysteries, home affairs and justice. Kingsley, as minister was then permitted to choose up to six members. He had chosen Mr and Mrs Weasley who sat next to each other in the seats closest to the door, Mrs Weasley looking nervous, Mr Weasley apparently calm, Minerva McGonagall, Firenze, Kreacher, and James McKenzie, a prominent lawyer. They had filled the seats nearest the Weasleys, all of them but McGonagall and McKenzie looking apprehensive, as if they didn't quite belong. Kingsley despised inequality and knew the only way to promote the wellbeing of other magical creatures was to lead from the front. He had tried to recruit Delphin Fasthook, a goblin to join the ranks but he'd turned the IC down, in very frank terms. Kingsley added building rapport with the goblins to his massive to do list. Poor Aaron, he looked at his senior undersecretary, the younger man sat to one side, away from the oval table, quill in hand and owl on shoulder. He had bags under his eyes but still appeared focused. Kingsley made another mental note to give Aaron a day off.

Kingsley turned his eyes to the compulsory members of the IC. They were the most powerful people in England, more powerful than him in a way. The most powerful of them all: Jacob Hayworth noticed Kingsley looking at him and nodded. The chief of the Wizengamot was in his sixties with piercing eyes which were so dark blue they appeared black, his white hair was cropped short and he wore plain black robes which were clearly expensive. He was from an old, powerful wizarding family and commanded the attention of every room he entered. Kingsley knew he would have to work hard to earn this man's respect. The head of the Department of Mysteries sat next to him, a slight man named Vesuvius Rota, Kingsley thought it fitting that he knew next to nothing about him. Vesuvius sat next to Hestia Jones, who had been elected to the IC, she smiled and waved at Kingsley who felt instantly more comfortable knowing he had a close friend and ally amongst the elected members. The other three elected members: Centuri Cyreene, Michael Moriarty, and Peter Lewis sat quietly, watching the heads of department.

The head of the Department of Trade was seated to Kingsley's right. Silvias Kwan was Eurasian with striking features, set off by a deep emerald set of dress robes. He was a career diplomat with perfect people skills and was one of the sharpest people Kingsley had ever met. Jack Sutherland sat next to him, the head of the home department was slight with blue eyes and auburn hair. She was known as one of the most dedicated and hard working people at the Ministry. She was fiercely loyal to those who worked for her and her quiet dedication had made her extremely popular. John Smith, head of the department of mysteries sat with his fingertips touching and his chin resting on his fingertips. He scanned the room behind his horn rimmed spectacles. He was dressed in unobtrusive clothes and seldom spoke. He was good at making people forget he was in the room. Kingsley knew hardly anything about him, which he supposed was fitting for the person who was head of the department of mysteries. The head of the justice department was Patrick Attle a chubby, dark haired man who had ignored Kingsley, and anyone else he thought was inferior to him at Hogwarts. He was formerly head of the lawyers' guild and was extremely powerful. He'd left England during the war – wanting to seem neutral. Of all the people in the IC, Attle was the only one Kingsley neither trusted nor liked. Still, one out of fifteen wasn't too bad, he supposed.

He nodded to Aaron who waved his wand, bolting the door. The room fell silent and looked to him. It was reasonably terrifying having the attention of such a collection of people, even more terrifying was that the people in this room more or less were responsible for building the country he loved. He straightened his robe and poured himself a glass of water.

"Welcome everyone. Thank you for coming today and for agreeing to be part of the Inner Council. I look forward to working with, and learning from, all of you." He took a deep breath and continued. "You will have read the agenda for this morning and the reports from each of you and from the other departments not listed here, and from Professor McGonagall. I wish to focus on three main issues: our debt, our international relations, and ensuring we do not have another war, Secretary Sutherland, please outline the country's financial position. As you will all be aware the war has left the country's economy in an uh unsatisfactory condition."

Aaron resisted the urge to rub his eyes. This was going to be a long meeting, the people at the table did not yet know each other well enough to express their opinions openly, so there was next to no chance of any conflict and therefore there would be unlikely to be any ground made. But he was learning that building relationships was important. He sat back in his chair and pretended to look interested.

XXX

Delores Umbridge had been hit hard in the aftermath of the war. She was not being watched by the Ministry as she wasn't a death eater, but everyone was in their stupid idealistic, moralistic, post-war nonsense. So no one wanted to hire someone who was known for being ruthlessly diligent in pursuing her company's aims without any scruples. She'd had to downgrade to a tiny flat in a poorer area of London, but she wasn't worried. Before long Kingsley, or one of his less morally sound underlings would come crying to her. They always did. Idealism didn't run a country, kindness didn't create wealth. No, soon they would be willing to overlook her disagreement with Potter.

She was distracted from her thoughts by a tapping at her window. She looked up to see a small brown owl at her window which looked familiar. She waved her wand, causing her window to open quickly and the owl to fall inside from surprise. Once the owl composed itself Umbridge took the letter off its leg.

 _Delores,_

 _I trust this finds you well, although my sources indicate otherwise._

 _I have a suggestion that could restore your power._

 _If you are interested, meet me next Monday at 2pm at the Obese Tapdancer. If you are not interested, this letter will evaporate and you will have no recollection of it._

 _R.S._

Umbridge smiled. There was only one person who would have been able to know her schedule and that she would be free next Monday at 2pm and who could perform a spell as intricate as to erase a tiny part of memory from a distance. Her week was about to get a lot more interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 3 – Oh darlin' don't you ever grow up**

Kingsley had never been so busy in his entire life. His desk was overflowing. His office its own bathroom ensuite and kitchenette. He had a house elf, just for him. There was something which appeared to be a wardrobe but which transformed into a bedroom if he asked it to. He'd originally thought it ostentatious but he realised that he was so busy that if he didn't have all that, he probably would never eat or sleep.

Adjoining his chambers were Molly's and Aaron's as well as a waiting room with the receptionist who fielded most of the owls, if she couldn't make the problem go away, Rosie, his secretary usually sent it out to the relevant head of department or if it was really important, to Aaron or Molly. So he knew his workload wasn't probably even a tenth of what was coming through to him.

He'd written a list which resembled a spider web, of all the things that needed doing. It was how he'd solved crime back in the day, with the matters which were important and urgent in the middle, then those which were important, those which were urgent more at the edges, then the things which were neither urgent nor important out the outside. Then he linked the issues which were joined or flowed on to each other, then he put in dates in red of when the things needed attending to, in orange he circled the things that the wizarding population wanted him to focus on. Finally he wrote names, in green of who would be responsible for helping to address the problem. The brainstorm had taken him two hours, but it was necessary. He entered it into his time sheet.

In the centre of the brainstorm was ensuring stability and unity. The war had taken its toll on the muggle population, Voldemort had destroyed crops and waters and businesses, consequently food was in shorter supply and it would be a drain on the muggle world's ability to produce food and goods, which meant prices went up for everyone: muggle and magical. Infrastructure had also been hit badly which meant both governments would be spending money on rebuilding which meant fewer resources for promoting social welfare, which meant increased inequality and therefore instability which in turn meant unproductivity which meant fewer resources. It was a self-strengthening cycle. At first he'd thought the solution was to focus solely on ensuring people were secure and well fed. But that didn't work either because the infrastructure still needed to be built and commerce still needed to thrive, so that people would have jobs. If there was a magic bullet, he didn't know what it was. If he'd had hair, he would have pulled it out. He had been critical of former Ministers in the past, he'd had _no idea_ how hard it was to focus on the bigger picture.

There was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in" Kingsley said, grateful for the distraction.

Aaron entered, followed by Oliver Wood.

"Mr Wood, sir" Aaron said.

"Please have a seat, Mr Wood, oh and Aaron, you can stay for this as well."

Aaron masked his confusion and slight despair at being kept away from his growing inbox with a polite smile and sat down.

Kingsley wasn't one for small talk, and from what he'd learned, Oliver Wood wasn't either. He'd studied law at Yale while representing the States in Quidditch. Kingsley didn't understand the American system but many of the major universities had witches and wizards attending the same universities as muggles but in different but parallel classes. He wondered if that was something England could look into. It would solve a lot of funding problems and it would also solve a lot of prejudice problems. He quickly scribbled it onto his chaotic brainstorm.

"Mr Wood, it is good to see you back in the country. I heard wonders of your human rights work whilst in the States."

Oliver met Kingsley's eyes and gave a very brief smile. He despised compliments, they distracted him during his quidditch career and no one complimented you in law school, and you certainly didn't get compliments when you were a junior lawyer. He waited for Kingsley to continue.

Kingsley saw that Oliver was not in the mood to discuss his work. He knew the feeling, he only shared his experience as an auror with a select few. The memories were painful, and few people were able to understand.

"As you are aware, our country is going to be facing the unwelcome task of dealing with Death Eaters. The aurors are working on finding those who are missing and the trials of those who have pleaded not guilty are set to begin in eight months. The sentencing will take place for all of them at the same time, given the lack of precedents for this type of offending."

Oliver nodded, this was common knowledge. At least in legal circles.

"In about three hours I am going to offer the job of senior prosecutor for these trials to Simon Clark. He is about to take on the Ministry Warrant for UK prosecutions, so naturally his first big job will be to run the trials."

Oliver nodded, trying not to get too excited in case the Minister of Magic wasn't going to ask what he was expecting. He kept his face blank, a skill he'd learned by necessity in the courtroom.

"He will need a junior. This person will need to have a ferocious work ethic, be incredibly intelligent, incredibly tough and needs to be seen as unbiased. You meet all of those criteria."

Oliver blushed. He couldn't quite believe the Minister for Magic was saying these things about him. "I'm not, sir. I'm nothing special, I am just lucky enough to be in a job I like, and I've had good mentors."

Kingsley smiled at the younger man. "A good answer, Mr Wood. Hold on to that humility. It will stand you in good stead. You are the ideal candidate for this role. You will have to work harder than you ever thought possible, you'll probably receive death threats, you'll also have to prosecute people who you suspect should not be prosecuted because they have had very difficult upbringings. Think carefully before accepting. Take until the end of the week."

Oliver knew what his answer was. He also knew he couldn't accept straight away. He didn't want to seem hasty.

"Thank you, sir. It is an honour to be asked. I will be in touch with you soon."

Kingsley nodded and Aaron showed Oliver out. After he'd closed the door behind Oliver, Aaron turned to Kingsley.

"Why did you want me there, sir?"

"I want Mr Wood to know how much I trust you, I want you to learn by observing, I want your self-confidence to increase because you have so much potential but you don't seem to be aware of it. Now, that's filled my soppiness quota for the week. Get back to work."

Aaron left, grinning from ear to ear as he left the room, wondering how he got such wonderful mentor.

XXX

Ron hated being back at Hogwarts. Well he liked being around lots of different people and seeing his friends, but he hated being reminded of Fred's death down every single corridor. And Lavender's for that matter, and Lupin's and the hundreds of others who should still be alive: too many of whom should have been at Hogwarts, who had died before their seventeenth birthday. He was also the centre of attention, almost to the same extent as Harry. He had no older brothers at school and he was now one of "The Golden Trio", the stupid nickname that had been given to Harry, Hermione, and himself. For the first time ever, he pitied Harry his fame.

"Chuck us the porridge, Harry?" He asked his best friend over the Gryffindor in the Great Hall. It was the third week of classes, and things were starting to pick up.

Harry obliged.

"You all good, mate?" Ron asked Harry, who was looking very pale. Harry didn't reply.

"Mate?"

"Yeah?"

"You ok?"

"Fine, Ron. Just tired" there was a hint of impatience in Harry's voice. Ron tried not to be upset. Harry had been distant over the past couple of weeks. He knew it probably had nothing to do with him, but it hurt nonetheless. He and Harry had been through so much together, but Harry would always be more important than him. Ron had overcome the unfairness of this, and he knew that it wasn't Harry's fault. But it was frustrating.

They ate in silence over breakfast. Hermione had eaten early. She'd always been an early riser and now, being Head Girl, she seldom joined them for breakfast. Ron missed Hermione, too. At least when they were in the forest, they were together.

They walked up to defence against the dark arts. Hermione joined the two of them, she had a big grin on her face. She was the only one of the three who really enjoyed being back at Hogwarts.

"Hey babe!" Ron smiled back and Hermione kissed him on the cheek.

"Morning Harry" she said brightly. Harry smiled in return.

"Harry what time do you want to head out for quidditch practice? We need to get ready for trials. Hermione, do you want to come watch? It will be a good break for you. What about Wednesday afternoon? Trials are on Friday."

"Oh Ron, sorry I thought I told you, I've got meetings with Minister Shacklebolt and Professor McGonagall and Neville on Wednesday, but I will try come on Friday, promise."

"Ok, cool. You on for Wednesday, Harry."

Harry paused. "Ron, I'm not sure if I'll have time for quidditch this year."

"Sorry, what?"

"Ron, look I've got a lot on my plate."

"No Harry, that's crap! You don't have a lot on your plate, you're not even Head Boy. What can you possibly be busy with?"

"Doesn't matter, Ron. Look I'll come along to trials and see how I go."

"No Harry, tell me! I know you're the freaking golden saviour and I'm just your loser friend who bailed on you but you've been secretive the past few weeks and since when do you not care about quidditch!? I think you owe me an explanation,"

Harry sighed and Hermione cast disillusionment charms and silence charms around them. Ron was annoyed that Hermione was so smart as to think of those.

"It's not much, really. Kingsley just wants me to work with the centaurs and the goblins to get them on the same page as wizards. And also he wants help liaising with muggles, he's asked Hermione as well to help with that. But I guess the other reason is that I'm tired, Ron and quidditch means being around a lot of people and I'm still jumpy and messed up."

Ron was half furious and half concerned. "Well thanks for telling me about these secret meetings guys. You're only my best mate and my girlfriend." Hundreds of memories of being overlooked, and memories of Harry and Hermione being close bombarded his brain.

Hermione put a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Ron…we didn't ask for these meetings. Just like none of us asked to be called the Golden Trio. But the country's in tatters and we are just trying to do our bit."

Ron hated Hermione for being the voice of reason. It was illogical, since it wasn't their fault for being chosen but it irked him that no one had bothered to ask him to join any committees.

"Well good for you, you're so important that you're obviously too busy for me. And what's wrong with me? Why didn't they ask me?!" He felt pathetic for losing his temper but he felt so useless.

He stormed off and didn't hear Hermione say softly:

"They didn't ask you because you've lost a brother and have a family who need you to support them, not like us."

Nor did he hear Harry say:

"Mate, I was going to tell McGonagall to make you quidditch captain."

Harry and Hermione looked at each other: "what should we do?" Harry asked his friend quietly.

"I don't know" Hermione said softly. There were times when she felt she didn't know Ron at all. Or perhaps she had changed too much and Ron didn't know her. She waived away the charms and she and Harry followed Ron to defence against the dark arts.

"Ron, wait" Hermione said, just before they entered.

"What?"

Hermione giggled "I need to take your disillusionment charm off. Unless you want detention for not showing up."

Ron laughed in spite of himself. "That would be depressing, getting detention for not going to class when you actually go. Let's see what this new teacher is like."

Hermione smiled. Ron's ability to get over arguments quickly was one of her favourite things about him.

XXX

Professor Griffin was a tall woman with strawberry blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. She spoke somewhat nervously and kept looking at the table where Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville were sitting. Harry was used to being looked at but for some reason she seemed most interested in Neville, although she never asked him a direct question.

"This course will be close to home for many of you" Professor Griffin told the class. "Some of you have seen more death than I have. This is a Gryffindor and Hufflepuff class. Most of your parents and yourselves, will have been fighting for the light. I want you to remember" she took a deep breath and looked as if she was holding back tears "I want you to remember, that there will be people here who will have to live knowing their parents fought for the dark. It is difficult for them, perhaps more than it is for you. I know it is an extremely difficult thing to forgive. But to not forgive is much worse."

Harry noticed that Hermione was watching Professor Griffin intently.

"Today we are covering shielding charms of others, from a distance. If we progress quickly, we will learn them non verbally. If you could put your books away and get your wands out."

Harry enjoyed the lesson. It was a useful spell, and more complex than a usual shield as it involved protecting someone away from the wand holder. Professor Griffin then made them practise the spells while moving around, and while objects were flying. It was one of the best lessons he'd ever had.

After the lesson Harry, Ron and Hermione walked down the hallway, happy about how the lesson had gone, Ron seemingly had forgotten the unpleasantness before. They stopped in Hermione's chambers for hot chocolate, sharing a quiet moment. After a while the door opened and Neville walked in.

"Neville, what did you think of Professor Griffin? That was such a good lesson, right?" Ron asked enthusiastically.

Neville looked as though he'd seen a ghost at the mention of the teacher's name. "Don't want to talk about it." He said before walking swiftly to his room.

 **A/N – Thanks for reading, as always let me know if you've got any suggestions! And let me know if you've got characters you want included that haven't been so far. I'm not sure if Oliver and Penelope and the Death Eater trials will fit into this story. There are so many characters in Harry Potter! So perhaps that will have to be another fic.**

 **Also just FYI, this isn't a Ron bashing fiction. He's going to have his time to come into his own. He just takes a wee while to come to his senses.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4 – the Obese Tapdancer**

 _Umbridge's POV_

Umbridge had been waiting impatiently all week for meeting with Skeeter. She'd decided to abandon her signature pink for black business robes with a navy blue dress underneath. She was fortunate that she was neither striking nor beautiful and she could slip into the background in most places without attracting too much attention. Her younger sister Desdemona had been the most beautiful witch in London and struggled always being in the spotlight.. She walked up to the entrance of the pub. Its exterior was a deep emerald green with brightly coloured orange and lime green polka dots. It was often commented upon that it had probably been designed by a drunken toddler. Having been on friendly terms with the owner Zane Gnomber, Umbridge thought that theory wasn't too far from the truth. Mr Gnomber was as eccentric as the Mad Hatter but smarter than Einstein. He was also morally flexible, which was very important when you were organising a meeting to bring down the establishment, which is why Skeeter would have chosen the Obese Tapdancer as the venue.

"Delores, _daaarlingk_ – it is wonderful to see you!" Mr Gnomber, dressed in an orange suit and bright blue top hat came and kissed her enthusiastically on the cheek. "It has been far too long. And you're wearing black? With your beauty, it is a tragedy, ma Cherie, you should wear colour, always."

Delores was glad that she didn't often blush. She looked around the pub which had paintings of chubby scantily clad people doing dance moves. Several disco balls scattered colours of light over the tables which were either purple or blue. There was a band with three cellists and a flautist supporting an enthusiastic although out of key singer, waiters in lime green tuxedos and ball gowns served a variety of bizarre looking cocktails. Umbridge smiled, no one would imagine any sort of business meeting taking place here. There was no sign of Skeeter.

"Zane" Delores said in a breathy voice "I'm Ms Skeeter's guest."

Zane smiled. Rita Skeeter had contributed immensely to his business from all her tips she paid him from passing on gossip and keeping secrets, whatever was required. In his opinion, that was what made her successful, she was willing to go where "respectable" journalists did not. Not that there was such thing as a respectable journalist, but Rita kept him solvent, and so what if some of the things he passed on were slightly fabricated. Everyone was allowed to exaggerate now and then.

"Oh Delores, what a wonderful catch up it will be. I have put you in our special room." He led Umbridge to a room out the back which was clearly protected by many spells and was also protected by muggle locks and codes. Unlike the main pub it was decked out in comfortable black leather chairs with a kitchenette. It was not luxurious but practical. Delores knew that many a business deal had taken place in this room. She had been involved in a few of them herself, well she'd watched Fudge conduct them.

"This is wonderful, Zane" Delores gushed. She slipped ten galleons into Gnomber's hand which he winked and pocketed

"Don't worry my dear, I never saw you here. Enjoy your meeting with the delightful Ms Skeeter."

Rita Skeeter smiled when she saw Umbridge. The smile almost reached her eyes.

"Delores, it's lovely to see you, please take a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"Coffee please, trim with two sugars."

Skeeter nodded and clicked her fingers. Two coffees appeared on the table along with a variety of fruit and vegetables.

"I'll cut to the chase. I'm uh irritated with how things have turned out for me. I imagine you have similar sentiments."

Umbridge did not respond. She did not trust anyone as a rule of thumb and there was a still a slight chance Skeeter wanted to trap her.

"If you do not believe me, read this letter. It's from the Daily Prophet, assuring me that I will never work for them again, nor will I work for any other newspaper in the country. That attitude comes straight from the Ministry. I'm a wee bit sick of the Ministry doing this and I think it's time I controlled the Ministry."

Umbridge's eyes narrowed into a scowl. "You are not going to be controlling me. That I can assure you, you're just a journalist." She said the last word as an insult.

Skeeter scowled back she was about to give a scathing answer, but Umbridge was too important to insult. "Sheath your claws. I have a plan which will work far better than making you Minister of Magic, no offence."

Umbridge smiled "well that's fortunate, because I would have rejected your offer. What are you suggesting?"

"That we bring back Fudge."

Umbridge almost snorted her coffee through her nose. "I think I misheard you."

"Think about it. He's easy to bend. He's power hungry and incompetent. He knows he's incompetent but won't admit it. He is scared of powerful witches and wizards and pushes them away instead relying on people he believes are loyal but who are less talented than he. You know this, you've worked under him. He trusted you."

Umbridge nodded thoughtfully. Fudge was an odious little man, but there was no way she would ever be elected Minister. Not while Kingsley and his pet, Potter were flavour of the month. He could be controlled. She could have him wrapped around her little finger in no time.

"It won't be easy" Umbridge commented quietly.

"No, it won't" Skeeter agreed.

"How do we do it?" Umbridge was an implementer, not a planner. She had persistence and cunning, but not ingenuity. That was where Skeeter excelled.

"We need to drag Kingsley's reputation through the trash. We need to make Fudge seem like a responsible and altruistic statesman."

Umbridge almost snorted her coffee through her mouth for the second time. "I am not sure what one of those will be more difficult."

Skeeter smiled. She loved a good misanthrope. This partnership could work very well. "We'll both work on that. I think we can start with Kingsley, delving into his past. But we can't delve too hard because Granger and Kingsley's other pet Aaron MacDonald will find out, mark my words."

"Really Rita, Granger is just a child. I hardly doubt she can be of any harm. And I haven't heard of MacDonald, so he can't be very important."

"That's your weakness Delores, you underestimate people, Granger basically brought down Voldemort."

"No, she didn't. She was Potter's sidekick."

"Trust me, Granger needs to be watched. Kingsley will be relying on her more and more, especially when she's finished at Hogwarts, mark my words. Potter, too, but Granger has the stronger work ethic and drive. Potter is idealistic and kind first and passionate for the light second. Granger is passionate about justice and fiercely protective of her friends first and doesn't suffer fools. And as for MacDonald, Kingsley trusts him completely and Aaron follows Kingsley around like a puppy. There are a whole generation of young ones, Delores, that are coming through. They are going to have warped, immature and idealistic world views because of the war and we need to get in fast before they become too powerful."

Umbridge sipped her coffee and marvelled at how Skeeter had a knack for seeing how things were likely to pan out.

XXX

 _Draco's POV_

The Slytherin common room was so subdued now. It was hard living with the stigma of being bad, of having the colour of your school tie determining whether you were part of the light or part of the dark, no matter who you actually were inside, no matter whether you were forced to follow in your family's footsteps. Draco Malfoy was once one of the most powerful students at Hogwarts, and amongst his own house, one of the most liked. Now he was despised by the other three houses and mistrusted by his fellow Slytherins. He oddly sympathised with oddballs like Lupin now, and with Potter and Dumbledore who went through periods of being hated. He sat with Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass and Jamieson Ellery at the back in Herbology. Pansy was much more subdued these days, Daphne's family had been neutral during the war and she worked as hard as she could to make sure the Slytherin families who were neutral and those who fought for the light got on with those who had parents were Death Eaters. Draco had hardly noticed the gentle and quiet Daphne during his time at Hogwarts, but now he appreciated her immensely. He was beginning to realise that kind and gentle didn't necessarily equate to weakness, much like how being loud and dominant didn't necessarily equate to strength.

"I'm not feeling well" Pansy said quietly. She had gone very pale. The plants they were looking at were rather _fragrant_.

"I'll take her to the sick bay" Daphne said quietly, leading her friend gently by the arm.

"See you in the common room" Draco said quietly, before turning to the nasallitas. He knew they had wonderful healing properties for auto immune diseases but he also wished they didn't smell quite so bad.

"Professor?" Granger raised her hand. Draco rolled her eyes. Why was Granger even back at school? She was the light's princess and could get a fancy job anywhere she liked. The Ministry would have made an exception to its stupid back-to-Hogwarts rule for her.

"Yes Ms Granger?" Professor Sprout said, speaking as though her to her favourite child. Professor Sprout was polite to him, but no more.

"Why don't we make these available for muggles? Auto immune is really rough on a lot of them."

Draco rolled his eyes for the second time in thirty seconds. Could anyone be so stupid? Doing business with muggles didn't work, well most of the time it didn't. Not when it involved exposing muggles to things they didn't have. They were too numerous and they could overpower magical people, probably and use them to provide magical services and see magical people as a commodity. But of course Ms Granger didn't see that side of the world, the real side of the world, that existed outside books and middle class parents. Muggles were useful, though, for providing certain services, as his father and his father before him, had figured out. But then, his father didn't know anything worthwhile either. So many people had died because of him, so many lives had been destroyed, for what? Nothing.

Professor Sprout looked at Granger indulgently. Draco wanted to gag. Honestly, Granger had not street smarts at all.

"Good question, Ms Granger. It could be an option to explore in the future. We are lucky to have a witch so bright as you amongst us."

Draco was in a bad mood for the remainder of the lesson. Ellery must have picked up on it because he packed up his bag very quickly after class. Draco checked his watch. He had a free period next and if he was fast he could get a run in and then half an hour of study before dinner, or he could just skip dinner. That might be best, he could avoid speaking with people.

He was lost in thought leaving the greenhouse, about how on earth he was going to have a successful career, about what would happen to his parents, when suddenly he felt someone punch him in the face.

"You little shit."

Draco looked up to see Vikash Patel, a beefy Ravenclaw glaring at him. He was surrounded by about twenty students of all four houses, most were seniors but a couple looked like first or second years. None of them looked like they wanted to be his friend, to put it mildly.

Draco raised an eyebrow. He was not in the mood for this. And also he kind of deserved to be beaten up, he didn't care. Although he was somewhat confused. He'd faced hostility for the first six weeks of term but he hadn't been hit before.

"What makes me 'a little shit', Patel?" Draco asked, putting air quotes around 'a little shit'.

"A myriad of things" said another Ravenclaw Draco didn't know "but primarily because your useless father has managed to weasel his way out of punishment again."

Draco couldn't help it, he laughed "being let out from house arrest for one afternoon with his wife to see his sick cousin is hardly avoiding punishment. He's had his assets frozen, property taken and is awaiting trial. So perhaps you should get your facts straight."

"My father and mother will _never_ get an afternoon to see family again, because your father and his cronies killed them!" Vikash was choking up with tears as he punched Draco in the face and then in the stomach. Someone else grabbed him and held his arms back while another person kicked him in the shins. He didn't try to fight back, he was too tired, and in a way, agreed with Vikash. Besides he'd been tortured worse by Voldemort and Bellatrix.

Then suddenly, the pain stopped, the people were being pulled off him, magically. The tried to run up against him but were hit by an invisible shield.

"Leave him alone" a voice said quietly but forcefully.

Draco turned around to see Granger wand up, casting the biggest, strongest shield he had ever seen. She looked Vikash in the eye, she looked like she almost crying. He'd seldom seen Granger overly emotional.

Vikash looked at Hermione angrily. "Hermione!"

Granger shook her head. "Hurting him won't bring your family back" she said, sounding tired. "It won't make the pain go away. Malfoy didn't choose his parents, and he's going to be paying for who his parents are for the rest of his life. Trust me, being angry doesn't help."

Draco was pretty sure that Vikash and the others wouldn't listen to such a holier than thou speech and he was also fairly certain that even Granger couldn't hold a shield charm that strong when it was from a distance and not covering her and non-verbal for much longer. But to his amazement Vikash nodded and walked away. The others followed their leader.

Granger walked over to him "you ok?"

Draco's instinct was to say something snarky at her, but then he saw that she had bags under her eyes, her hair was slightly greasy and she was looking very thin. She must have been working hard lately, Draco thought. Now she will be tired from sticking up for me. He decided to swallow his pride.

"Yeah, I'll be fine… Thanks for sticking up for me" he said shyly.

Hermione gave a wry half-smile "you're welcome. I needed to practise my shield charm anyway."

Draco smiled back, grateful she wasn't going to get all mushy on him.

Hermione nodded and started to walk back to the castle. Draco was oddly hurt that she didn't walk with him, but then, she probably thought he didn't want to walk with her.

"Granger" he called to her after she'd walked about ten paces away.

She turned and walked back to him "yes Malfoy?"

"Do you want to get a coffee of something at Hogsmeade sometime?"

Hermione looked surprised.

"As friends, I mean, obviously" he said awkwardly "or at least, not as enemies."

"I'm not your enemy, Malfoy."

"Oh good, great."

Hermione smiled at him. "Hogsmeade sounds great, and if we're going to be meeting up, you should probably call me Hermione."

Draco beamed "well you call me Draco."

"That sounds fair. I'll see you next Hogsmeade, Draco. Meet at the Hogs Head at 10am?"

"Perfect" Draco said, somewhat stunned at what had just occurred.

XXX

Skeeter had been searching through Kingsley's records for two weeks. She'd drunk more polyjuice potion than she ever had. It was making her feel permanently nauseous. But finally she'd managed to get the hair of more and more senior people and she'd finally managed to impersonate one of the junior unspeakables. She had access to the Department of Mysteries files and found Kingsley's full records. Then she'd gone to all his places of employment. She was at the place where he first worked, she'd broken in and read through all the tasks he'd undertaken. Just when she was close to giving up she found something that would completely ruin Kingsley's reputation.

 **A/N thanks for reading, let me know what you thought.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 5 – Mentor, mine.**

McGonagall smiled as Hermione Granger entered her office. Hermione was perhaps the most exceptional student she'd ever taught. Not because of her academic ability, but because of her tenacity and loyalty. Hermione was capable of greatness, but McGonagall worried that Hermione still saw herself as a shy eleven year old with no friends. She was even more concerned that Hermione's fear of failure and unpopularity was holding her back. She'd set up weekly meetings with Hermione, as well as with Potter, Weasley, Lovegood, Malfoy and Longbottom, but it was Hermione who needed the most support.

"Sit down, Ms Granger" McGonagall said kindly. "How is your week going?"

Initially Hermione had refused to disclose much when she'd asked that question, but slowly Hermione had opened up. Granger had always been guarded, but the war had made her taciturn.

Hermione smiled "well Gryffindor won its match against Ravenclaw. Ron has really come into the role of captain and I think it's good for him to be out of Harry's shadow. Harry misses quidditch, though. He seems tireder every time I see him, which isn't that often really."

"Are you taking on too much?" McGongall asked, concerned "you should make time for your friends, Hermione.

"Hermione glared at McGonagall "I'm not taking on too much, there's no such thing."

McGonagall frowned but didn't push the point. Hermione's lips were chapped and there were bags under her eyes. She had also been making mistakes in classes according to her teachers. Not big ones, but her work had the odd spelling mistake and occasionally her maths was wrong. She would write to Kingsley and ask him to use Hermione less. Not so much that she became worried that people were talking about her, but the girl had been through a war and was taking on too much responsibility.

"And have you made plans to find your parents?"

McGonagall regretted asking so personal a question as soon as it escaped from her lips. Hermione glared at her for a long time before saying:

"I have meetings with . and about a hundred letters two and from, I have to keep my grades up, work on my Head Girl duties, study for next year's auror training and because the magical community _still_ hasn't figured out a way for people to live without sleep, I have to find time to get a bit of shuteye. I don't have _time_ to find my parents, and I'm not entirely sure why you care anyway!" She stood up, ran out and slammed the door, failing to conceal her tears. McGonagall put her head in her hands. She started writing a letter to Molly Weasely. Hermione needed a lot of sleep over the holidays.

XXX

"You look tired" Malfoy commented when Hermione sat down across from him at the café.

Hermione was too tired to snap back at him. She just smiled weakly. She was so embarrassed about how she had treated McGonagall who, over the past two months had become more than just a teacher. She'd become her mentor. "How has your week been?"

"Fine. Looking forward to Christmas."

"What's happening for you?"

"I'm going home, to Malfoy Manor I mean. Crap, sorry Hermione, you probably don't want to be reminded of that place."

"Draco, it's fine. You need to stop blaming yourself for stuff that isn't your fault."

Draco smiled at his newest friend. "I could give you the same advice."

"Seriously Draco, Harry blamed himself for Sirius's death and it nearly destroyed him. And Dobby's. Living in the past doesn't fix anything. Anyway, are you going to see Teddy?"

Draco smiled "yes, he's already crawling and Aunt Andromeda is convinced he's talking, even though it's just gurgles."

"Harry says the same."

"Harry Potter?"

"Yes, he's Teddy's godfather. Lupin" Hermione bit back tears "Lupin asked Harry to be his godfather. Maybe you and Harry could visit him together sometime."

Draco laughed.

"Seriously, Harry doesn't hate you."

"Yes, Hermione, he does."

"Has he taunted you, or made your life difficult? No. You know he was the one who protected you from the Wizengamot."

"That's because he's so noble."

"One nobility isn't a bad thing, as you very well know, and two, he did it partly because he doesn't want to be enemies with someone he is probably going to have to deal with in the future. It's not sentimental, just good sense. Why bother hating someone when you don't have to? You are a Slytherin, you know this. It costs money, time and energy being at odds with someone, you should only do it if there are irreconcilable differences."

"And here I was thinking you and Potter were just a couple of idealistic do-gooders."

Hermione laughed quietly. "I'm not sure it's possible to live through a war without being at least slightly practical. Would you mind if I invited Harry to our next coffee date?"

Draco, a year ago would have never agreed to such an outlandish plan, but his inner Slytherin told him it was stupid to turn down making amends with someone who would be very powerful in the future, and a newer part of him he was unfamiliar with actually wanted to make new friends for the enjoyment of it.

"I suppose that I should say yes, otherwise you'll keep nagging me incessantly."

"You suppose correctly, or maybe I'll just throw a tantrum and run out. I really need to apologise to McGonagall."

"Hermione?"

"Mmmm?"

"Does, um does Ron know about us?"

"What do you mean? There is no 'us'."

Draco flinched "that's not what I meant. Does Ron know we're having coffee?"

Hermione looked into her coffee for a few seconds before answering "no, Draco and I would prefer you didn't tell him."

Draco nodded "it's not like we're on speaking terms anyway."

Hermione smiled gratefully, trying to hide how guilty she was feeling about keeping this from Ron, but he wouldn't understand. His and Malfoy's family had so much history and Ron sometimes struggled to see the bigger picture. If Draco could be trusted and really wanted to turn his life around, he would be so helpful in ensuring that purebloods were invested in the magical society. But Ron was more concerned about his family's opinion. She noticed where her line of thought was going and stopped it. Any thought of her parents hurt too much. She moved the conversation on to small talk.

XXX

Luna looked at her defence against the dark arts notes. Professor Griffin was giving them a rare theory only class, on occlumency. Luna understood why, occulumency was one of the hardest magics to learn: mentally, emotionally, and physically. No one knew, but she was quite competent at occulmency already, and her father had always told her she would learn legilimency well, too, because her mother had. Luna had written her notes down already, well before the other students had. She surrepticiously tapped her wand onto her book and the page behind the writing turned into a picture of a golden sand beach with a magnificent sunset. She tapped the paper again and the words became stick figured people, some dancing with each other on the beach, others musicians providing the melody and beat to sustain the others, she frowned, her cello wasn't quite right, it needed to be a bit bigger. Just as she reached out her wand to tap the page a third time, she heard a gentle voice say "Luna?"

Luna looked up to see Professor Griffin staring at her page which didn't resemble anything like her notes on occlumency.

Luna blushed "I'm sorry, Professor. I wrote my notes, I promise. I just got distracted. It won't happen again."

Professor Griffin smiled at Luna "I know Luna, you finished first out of anyone. I also know you'll remember the lesson because you've got a photographic memory. I just wanted to compliment you on your drawings. You're a very talented woman, Luna."

Luna blushed and smiled. "Thank you professor. At the risk of sounding impertinent, so are you."

Professor Griffin gave a half smile and continued with the lesson.

Luna was walking on air after the lesson. She ran into Harry, Neville and Ron who were walking back to the common room from lunch.

"Hey, Luna how's it going?

"Wonderful, Professor Griffin is the best, isn't she?"

Ron smiled at his eccentric blonde friend. "Yes, we are so lucky to have her."

Harry, Ron and Neville kept walking, dodging Peeves who was carrying a very large bucket of something that looked like water but knowing Peeves, was very unlikely to be.

"Professor Griffin was so helpful with my remote shield charm" Ron mused "I think she's the best DADA professor we've had apart from Remus."

"She's been good to me, too" Harry mused. "What do you think of her, Neville?"

Neville glared at his friends "why? What's it go to do with you?" He glared at the Fat Lady and said the password before storming up the stairs to the dormitory.

"Neville, Neville come back" Ron called after him. He and Harry followed Neville up the stairs, concerned. They had never seen him like this.

"Why, why should I come back?"

"Neville, because it's not your dormitory anymore, remember?" Harry said softly.

Neville gave a short, sharp laugh. "Right, of course. Stupid of me, sorry for the outburst, I'm going back to my rooms." He marched back down the stairs and out through the picture hole, leaving a bunch of first years playing exploding snap half awestruck and half annoyed that the head boy had disrupted their game.

"You guys should be playing chess anyway" Ron told them offhandedly as he followed Neville.

"Sorry guys" Harry muttered, "go back to your game" he waved his wand so that the cards returned to the players' hands.

"Do you think he wants us following him? Harry asked.

"I dunno mate, but he's been acting weird around Professor Griffin and to be honest I'm kind of intrigued."

Harry rolled his eyes "well we should satisfy your curiosity then anyway, even if we disturb Neville" he said teasingly.

Ron laughed "mate, you're just as curious as me, I know you are. But you can blame me if he gets upset that we followed."

"Deal" Harry laughed. He missed how Ron's sense of humour. They entered Neville and Hermione's rooms to see Neville sitting on a couch throwing a stress ball repeatedly against a wall.

"Nev, mate" Ron said quietly.

"Oh hi guys, sorry about being stupid before. Do you want a cup of tea?"

"I'll make us some" Harry said softly

Neville smiled weakly. "Thanks Harry."

Harry came back carrying the tea, wishing that there was a TV in the room. It would have been good to mindlessly watch something. He handed the tea out and his friends smiled thank yous.

"I'm sorry for behaving the way I did" Neville said quietly. "I won't behave like that again."

"Neville, you didn't behave badly, you're allowed to have feelings. We are just worried about you" Harry replied.

"And we want to know what the deal is with Professor Griffin. Like, why do you go all weird whenever she's mentioned. It's like you've seen a ghost or something" Ron added.

Neville looked at his two friends. He'd been raised to, and then bullied into hiding his feelings.

"You don't need to say, Neville" Harry said, giving Ron a stern look. Ron rolled his eyes at his best friend.

Neville sighed, "you'll think I'm stupid."

Harry rolled his eyes. He wanted to shake his friend. "We've been through enough together Neville, no judgment from either of us. You're basically family."

Neville smiled at Harry, the person whose life most closely resembled his own, the person who's life was not his by a mere whim of Voldemort. Harry was perhaps the only person who could sympathise with what was going on in his head at the moment. The only person who wouldn't doubt his sanity, except perhaps Luna. But Harry would understand why, so badly he wanted this weird feeling to be true.

Neville looked at his hands. "Please don't tell anyone guys."

Ron put his hand on Neville's shoulder "promise, mate."

Neville didn't look up, he said very quietly "for some weird reason I think she's my mother, or at least related to me."

Harry didn't want to tell Neville to snap out of it. He remembered the mirror of erised and the crushing feeling when he realised that it wasn't real. Neville's situation was worse than his because he saw the shells of his parents but not who they were before they lost their minds. But he didn't want to inject harsh reality into his friend either.

"Neville, I think you need to talk to McGonagall. She'll help you get to the bottom of this."

XXX

Minerva hadn't shown up to the staff meeting in the morning and while she'd been at her lessons (he'd never known Minerva to miss a lesson in several decades) she hadn't been in the staff room all day. He didn't want to bother her but he really needed to touch base with her about a few things. He said the password to her office and entered.

Minerva was sitting at her desk as white as a sheet, clutching the arms of her chair, she was trying to contain gasps. She looked up to see her colleague.

"Oh hello Filius, I'm glad you dropped in. I think I'm having a heart attack."

 **A/N This chapter did not want to get written! Sorry it's so boring, things will pick up soon. Promise. Thanks to all who read and reviewed.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 6 – A decision**

Hermione was preparing a speech to support an exchange programme the Department of Education was looking to set up with Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. She internally groaned in frustration at how stupid it sounded. She resisted the urge to screw up the paper and throw it in the bin and also silently cursed Hogwarts for making it impossible to use her laptop. She kept meaning to bring it up with McGonagall. She was sure she could devise a spell to get around it.

"Ms Granger" a voice said gently.

Hermione looked up to see who was speaking to her, realised it was Professor Flitwick and looked down to meet his eyes.

"Yes sir?"

"How are you?" His voice sounded funny, like he was holding back tears.

"Fine, thank you, sir."

"Hermione?"

Hermione gazed at her teacher, half worried and half impatient. "Yes, sir?" She said, trying not to sound impatient.

"Minerva, uh professor McGonagall has ah, well she's had a heart attack."

Hermione felt like her entire world was crashing around her, there was a strange buzzing in her ears and she felt like she was going to be sick. The next minute she felt someone grip her elbow tightly and hold her steady.

"For goodness sake Filius, what are you doing upsetting the girl in the library?" Mrs Pince said sharply. "This girl needs some Pepperup potion" the grey haired lady hissed.

Flitwick nodded, Hermione, feeling somehow detached from her body as if she was in a dream watched surprised as Flitwick conjured a futon with overly plush white cushions and gently waved his wand, and she was lifted up and placed gently on the futon, tiny Professor Flitwick following her keeping the futon levitated down several corridors. Students walked past without noticing the weird sight. Hermione supposed Flitwick would have placed some sort of charm making them not realise she was there, she thought to herself. She would have laughed at her current situation if it wasn't for the news she had just heard. She wasn't feeling detached anymore. She felt a plunging sensation and just wanted to cry and cry and to hug someone, which was weird, she wasn't prone to doing either. Then she rolled her eyes, now she was analysing herself, great.

Flitwick stopped her futon outside a door, completely painted with a view of the Niagara Falls, he touched the door gently and the painting began to move and she heard the sound of the waterfall. Flitwick gently moved the futon inside the room and placed it on the ground.

"Welcome to my office, Ms Granger. Here have some pepper up potion." He handed her a goblet and a small golden plate with Turkish delight.

"I feel somewhat like Edmund with the White Witch" Hermione joked weakly "thank you, sir."

"Edmund? The White Witch?" Flitwick looked confused and a bit concerned. Was Hermione having a delusion?

"Never mind sir, thank you for these."

There was a long silence as Hermione sipped her drink and took in Flitwick's office. She had never been in it before, the walls were painted with a picture of the sea, all around. Albatrosses flew over the water and dolphins were seen under it. In one corner there were rock pools with starfish and crabs and shell fish. She gazed in wonder for a while before remembering where she was and why she was there.

"How, how is she doing?"

Flitwick looked down at his hands which were twisted in his lap. Somehow this was more horrible than the war deaths. Minerva had survived so much and now her life was in danger because of a stupid heart attack.

"She's still alive" Flitwick said, pausing over his words, thinking over each one before he spoke. "She was conscious when I took her to St Mungo's but then she slipped into a coma."

Hermione covered her mouth with her hands and stared at the ground. Flitwick came over and put a hand on her knee. She regained composure, not wanting to embarrass her teacher.

"May I, may I visit her? Or would that invade her privacy?"

Flitwick smiled, "of course, Ms Granger. She is extremely fond of you."

Hermione stood up "thank you, sir."

"Ms Granger?"

"Yes, professor?"

"I think you should go to St Mungo's with Ms Weasley and Messers Potter and Weasley. These sorts of things are better with friends, in the main. You can help each other keep your chins up. But news of this is not to spread further than those three."

Hermione nodded, wishing she had glasses to hide her red eyes.

XXX

"You look reasonably excited" Rita Skeeter said to Umbridge as the two met inside the Obese Tapdancer's backroom.

Umbridge's normally perfectly coiffed hair was falling about her face and she let out a breathy, girly giggle. "We've got reason to be, Rita."

Skeeter raised an eyebrow "do spill."

"McGonagall's had a heart attack."

Skeeter's heart plunged. She remembered how professor McGonagall had always been kind to her at Hogwarts. Rita had managed to hide the fact she was the child of two poverty stricken muggles from most, but McGonagall had known, being the one who sent her letter. She'd recognised her cleverness. She forced a smile to her face. She knew Umbridge was heartless, that's why she'd chosen her, but wanting power wasn't the same as callousness, and Umbridge was callous.

"I see."

"Yes, Rita. We can target Potter now. If Potter is somehow out of action, then Kingsley loses his main popularity playing card. Without McGonagall, he doesn't have his main mentor, you can start undermining his reputation."

Skeeter nodded, "and how to you plan to get Potter 'out of action'? Are you going to send him out of the country or something?"

Umbridge wasn't stupid. She knew that Seekter sometimes had a conscience which sometimes held her back. Skeeter didn't need to know everything. "Something like that, Rita. Leave Potter to me. You need to start thinking about ways to undermine Kingsley."

"That I can do" Skeeter said bitterly. She was back to her badass self again, no longer concerned about McGonagall. Kingsley and the Daily Prophet had ruined her and she needed to get revenge. "I'll get back to you in a week or so. I'm going on holiday for a bit."

"I hope you have a good time. I'll hold the fort here."

Skeeter nodded and left, her purple dragon skin suit disappearing down the corridor. Umbridge envied her ability to walk in stilettos with ease. She cast a disillusionment charm over herself, she didn't feel like being seen. She walked out of the pub and apparated into her home.

She had always been good a potions. She liked the fact that she could create so many powerful things from unconnected and weird things that were useless on their own. She took out a vial of polyjuice potion, which she always had on tap, especially since her fall from grace meant that she couldn't really afford staff anymore. Then she went into her quarantined area. No one knew about this. She had worked for weeks to create enough charms to hide its existence from the outside world. It contained several useful potions which could be used to ensure people did not get in her way. And Potter certainly was in her way, stupid, nasty little boy.

XXX

Neville felt ridiculous confessing his suspicions to Harry and Ron. Of course professor Griffin wasn't his mother. His mother was at St Mungo's, and why was he so upset, and why did he feel so _weird_ around her?

"Hey, Neville" he heard Hermione say softly as she entered the longue. She had red eyes and had obviously been crying, a lot. She's been like for the past couple of days, if he thought about it.

"Heya, want a cup of tea?" He wasn't going to pry, Hermione would tell him if she wanted him to know what was bothering her.

"Thanks, Neville" Hermione said, relieved that he was going to ignore her red eyes "just a quick one. I've got to pop out soon."

Hermione went into her room to get changed. When she came back in jeans and t-shirt Neville handed her the tea and the door to their chambers opened without so much as a knock.

"Ron" they said to each other at the same time, and laughed. Sure enough Ron came into the room, dressed in chinos and a collared shirt, Harry followed him in faded jeans and crumpled t-shirt. Hermione smiled. He was the most famous wizard in the world, and very wealthy but he did not care about his appearance at all.

Ron walked over to Hermione and hugged her tightly, which surprised Neville. Normally the two were _very_ British and didn't do public displays of affection. Something was up and had been for a couple of days. But he wasn't going to ask. They'd tell him if they wanted him to know, and besides he wasn't part of their golden trio, he didn't want to intrude.

Then to his surprise, Harry hugged Hermione tightly as well.

"Let's go get Ginny and then head off. We can take the floo out of Flitwick's office" Harry said.

Ginny was going as well? That was weird, Ginny usually told him everything, she was one of his best friends.

"Sorry guys, but where are you going?" He was too curious now.

Hermione turned around to look at him, tears welling up in her eyes "oh, just ah, just St Mungo's" she said, her voice going high at the end of the sentence as it always did when she was about to cry.

Neville touched her shoulder gently "hope it goes well."

He felt stupid worrying about Professor Griffin, now, not when something huge was clearly going on. But maybe he should go and visit his parents when he next had the chance.

XXX

Umbridge looked in the mirror. A pretty blonde nurse in St Mungo's uniform looked back at her and winked. She was holding four goblets, one which contained the dragon pox virus. She went down the hallway to Minerva McGonagall's room, Potter and his little friends were around her bed, all the other visitors had left the room. This was the perfect opportunity.

"Hello dears, pumpkin juice?" She said holding out the tray. She smiled as Harry took the poisoned juice and drank it heartily. She left, grinning. That was easier than taking candy from a baby.

Hermione watched the nurse leave.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ginny asked.

"Oh nothing, that nurse seemed to be acting a bit weird, that's all. Anyway should we go? Harry and I have a meeting with Kingsley tomorrow and I haven't prepped for it."

Ron rolled his eyes "oh yes, we can't keep Kingsley waiting now can we?"

"Shut it Ronnikins."

XXX

Neville was waiting for Hermione when she came back to their chambers, he jumped up and walked over to her when she entered.

"Flitwick told me" he said before wrapping her in a hug. They both cried. McGonagall had mentored both of them and looked out for them over the years, two misfits with parents who were unable to guide them through their Hogwarts journey.

Hermione went into their kitchenette and made them both a salad. They ate in silence for a while, both grateful that they didn't have to go down to the Great Hall.

After a while Hermione said "Neville, McGongall's heart attack has made me realise that we have to live in the moment and not hold onto regrets."

Neville nodded "definitely."

She took a deep breath "I think I'm going to go and find my parents. I don't _need_ to do all this head girl and other stuff, well not over Easter anyway. I think I can take a couple of extra weeks beforehand and then go."

Neville beamed at his friend "Hermione, this is a great idea. I think you really need to reconnect with your parents. Your family is the most important thing."

"You don't mind holding the fort here?"

Neville paused. "No Hermione I don't mind."

"But…?"

"But what?"

"You paused, you were going to say something else."

Neville glared "you are too good at reading people, you know that?"

"What were you going to say?" Hermione said, brushing of the half-compliment.

"Well I was kind of wondering if I could come with you? I would be nervous if you went alone, and there are ways to communicate with people back home, and we would only be gone for a month."

Hermione was taken aback, but then she was pleased. Neville would be perfect company, he was calm under pressure and sensitive.

She kissed him on the cheek "I'd be thrilled to have you come along. So long as Flitwick is ok with us going."

XXX

Harry and Ginny had gone for a walk after returning from St Mungo's. It was a calm night with cicadas chirping and the occasional owl hooting. Harry and Ginny hadn't seen much of each other in their few months back at Hogwarts. Harry had been busy and they didn't have quidditch in common anymore. He kissed her goodnight when they returned to the common room and Harry went up to his dormitory. Ron, of course was still awake.

"Hellooo Harry, where have you been?"

Harry laughed "with your sister, actually." Harry said, knowing that would shut Ron up. "She's damn good at kissing, you know."

Ron pretended to throw up "eurgh sorry I asked" he said throwing his pillow at his best friend.

 **A/N I am SO sorry taking so long to update! Hope you liked the chapter**


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